Wake Up
by Katako-Chan
Summary: KibaOC. Christmas present to KaoruHime. What comes of a rescue mission...
1. The News

**Author's Note:** Another KibaOC for Kaoru-Hime, my wonderful onee-sama. Merry Christmas, onee-sama, and enjoy, everyone!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto nor do I own any of the Star Wars books.

* * *

**Wake Up**  
by Katako-Chan

_"Hyuuga Neji, Yamanaka Ino, Inuzuka Kiba, you are to travel to the Land of Grass. Details are in the mission scroll. Hyuuga Neji, as the highest ranking, I appoint you as team leader for this mission."_

----

It was a gloriously sunny day in Konoha: the sky positively glowed a translucent cerulean and the bright, cheery sun seeped its way into everyone's moods. It could be said that even sullen man would be dancing jigs from sheer happiness. It was also one of those days that seemed to creep at a leisurely pace and were spent outside strolling aimlessly and perhaps tossing a kunai or two.

But just because it was a day that seemed to creep leisurely, that gave no reason for it to be spent leisurely. Two kunoichi were in the midst of a training session in one of the many clearings that were perfect for that sort of thing.

"Great, Hinata!" Kaoru huffed. "You've gotten better since the last time we sparred. Let's take a break, okay?"

"Alright, Kaoru-san."

"Aw, don't use '-san,' Hinata. We've known each other since the Genin days, which makes…um, nine years! So, er, how's the rest of Team Kurenai?"

"Oh, well, Shino-kun and Kiba-kun are both on missions, and I haven't seen Kurenai-sensei for a while…but I think Shikamaru-kun went to see her yesterday. How about your team, Kaoru-chan?" Hinata tilted her head back so that her bangs no longer shadowed her face.

"They're doing great! …I think. Erikawa's been much more talkative since we got back from Suna, but we all know why, right? The last time I saw Katako was in the Hokage Tower when we were dropping off our mission report, but she looked fine." Kaoru flopped onto the grass. "Mmm, it's so nice out today! What do you say to lunch, Hinata?"

"Lunch? Well, I am rather hungry…"

"We'll go to Ichiraku, then! Maybe we'll catch a boy in orange there, too," Kaoru said with a wink.

"K-Kaoru-chan!"

The pair made their way to Ichiraku Ramen slowly, as the sun shone directly down on them. They made it to the stand just as Naruto was leaving, and an exchange involving blushing, stammering, loud and obnoxious voices, and giggles and smirks (on Kaoru's part) occurred. They sat down and ordered, and just as their bowls of steaming ramen arrived, Erikawa appeared, seemingly out of thin air, inside the entrane.

"Kaoru, I've been looking for you," Erikawa said in greeting. She wasted no time waiting for a reply. "I have some news that you would find valuable. The team that Godaime-sama sent out two weeks ago to Grass was due to return four days ago, but they haven't."

"Y-you mean Neji-niisan's team, Erikawa-san? Do you think something went wrong?"

"I don't know any details; I only overheard Sakura telling Tenten at the hospital. I thought that you ought to know first." With that, Erikawa turned and left.

"T-they're four days late? But Neji-niisan had told Father that the mission was relatively simple A-rank. It was only ranked A because Tsunade-sama was unsure how many sentries there would be…" Hinata trailed off as Kaoru abruptly stood and left. "K-Kaoru-chan, w-where are you going? I'm very sorry, Old Sir, I will pay Kaoru-chan's bill."

----

Kaoru darted through the streets, almost upsetting hawker's carts and elderly people. It was a pity that her apartment was nearby the Hokage Tower. If it hadn't been, she had a smaller chance of being seen, but the rent for ninjas was discounted at the complexes in close proximity to the Tower. _My apartment is closer to the south gate, but Land of Grass is to the east…I can take a route through the woods out of the front gate sentries' sight, but it will take a little longer. There better not be anyone with the Byakugan on duty…_

She was so caught up in her thoughts that she didn't notice anything until it looked as if a sea-green hill had sprouted on the horizon.

"Kaoru! What was that all about? You're running way too fast to have been late for something. What happened?" Katako asked, staring accusingly at Kaoru.

"I'm in a hurry, Katako…"

"Thanks for stating the obvious. Tell me what's going on, and then I'll leave you alone."

"Erikawa just came by and told me…told me that Kiba-kun's mission is…is…" She broke out into a coughing fit just then, cutting off the rest of her sentence.

"Kiba's mission is what, Kaoru? A success? A failure?" Katako asked, her voice sharper and more impatient.

"His mission…his team…they should have been back four days…ago." Having finished informing Katako, Kaoru collapsed onto the dusty road.

"Four days? And…you were going to go after them, weren't you?" If Shikamaru had been there at that very moment, he would have compared Katako to his mother.

Kaoru shrunk slightly under her teammate's glare before giving the slightest nod.

"Kaoru, do you know what running off to rescue someone would do?" Katako cried, drawing wary glances from the shoppers. "First of all," she continued, dropping to a whisper, "Everyone, _everyone_, would know about you and Kiba; and with someone like Ino-san on that mission, it would be the news for weeks. Haven't you learned a thing or two about secrecy since you entered the Academy?

"Secondly, you weren't given a rescue and back-up mission; Tsunade-sama could slate as you 'missing-nin,' and the villagers would think you went Uchiha Sasuke. Do you want that?"

"Alright, alright," Kaoru sighed, defeated, "I won't go anywhere. Geez, calm down…the villagers will be talking about _you_ for weeks after this spectacle."

Kaoru dusted herself off, said her goodbyes, and made her way to her apartment. Unlocking the door, she kicked off her sandals and flopped onto the futon._Well, I suppose there's no way of sneaking out to rescue Kiba-kun's team, what with Katako watching me like a hawk. I don't know where she gets it, but whatever she uses works better than the Byakugan…_

_…Tsunade-sama will have to send someone out as a rescue and reinforcement team soon, and I'll be on it…_

* * *

**Ending Note:** Well, there is chapter one for my onee-sama's Christmas present XD. This plot was so long when I planned it out; it will definitely have to be multi-chapter. Great…just great, I hate writing multi-chapter. Anyways, please review, it speeds the updating process! 


	2. Beginning of a Mission

**Author's Note:** Chapter 2 of this fic! I would totally finish Pain of Emotion, but I'm on the road with a laptop and the first half of chapter four is saved on my computer at home. Le sigh…

**Disclaimer:** Once again, I do not own Naruto…..nor do I own any of the Star Wars books.

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**Wake Up – Chapter 2**  
By Katako-Chan

Kaoru had spent the rest of the day cooped up in her apartment, and the next day arrived as another sunny one. This time, the sun seemed to mock her gloomy spirits as she leaned against her apartment rooftops, considering whether or not to go see Tsunade-sama about the late team.

Deciding that she may as well go and stop torturing herself with worst-case scenarios of Kiba and his team's predicament, Kaoru leapt from the rooftop to the streets. _They probably just got lost, anyways…No, that's not possible, they have Neji…Stop, Kaoru, stop!_

"Oi! Kaoru, what's up?" She looked up to see Naruto grinning and waving his arms like a windmill.

"Oh, nothing much, Naruto. And good morning, Sakura," She replied, walking up to join the blonde and the pink-haired kunoichi.

"Good morning to you too, Kaoru. Where are you headed?"

"The Hokage Tower; I want to see if Hokage-sama has any information on the late team."

"Well that's just perfect, then! Sakura-chan and I were headed there too; something about Tsunade-baachan wanting to see us. Let's go!" Naruto walked ahead of them with confident strides.

----

In mere minutes, they reached Tsunade's office and could hear her muttering about paperwork and decided it was safe to head on in.

"Oh, Naruto, Sakura, you're both here. Now, as you ought to know by now, a team consisting of Hyuuga Neji, Yamanaka Ino, and Inuzuka Kiba was sent to retrieve a scroll in the Land of Grass. As far as I know, there was nothing that could have delayed them on this mission, but they still have not returned, five days after they were supposed to. I am sending you two out as a rescue and support team-."

"Please, Tsunade-sama, may I go with them?" Kaoru burst out.

"Hanami Kaoru? Why should I send you along with them?" Tsunade asked, shifting her gaze to Kaoru.

"Because…because…because I want to! And because I haven't been on a mission in a while, and-."

"You just returned from Suna four days ago. Is that a long while?"

"But, Tsunade-sama! Besides, the basis of mission teams are three-man cells, and I'd make the third on the team."

"I believe that there are others," Tsunade countered. "Wouldn't it be more fitting if Naruto and Sakura's sensei, Kakashi, went instead?"

Sakura spoke up, "Tsunade-shishou, Kakashi-sensei is on a mission right now."

"Yes, Kakashi-sensei is on a mission, Tsunade-sama! Please, may I go with them?" Kaoru begged.

"I have Naruto always up here begging me for missions and now this girl is too? Geez, won't someone make these ninja a little _less _eager?" Tsunade muttered and then rose to address the three. "Very well, Hanami Kaoru, you will go along on this mission as well. Leave as soon as possible."

_Yes! I'm going on the mission to find Kiba-kun!_

_---- _

The rescue and support team consisting of Naruto, Sakura, and Kaoru stood just outside of the village's main gates. Naruto wore his usual grin and a face full of anticipation, Sakura's expression was calm and collected while Kaoru shifted anxiously.

"Alright, Team Naruto is going to rescue Team Neji!" Naruto shouted, pumping a fist into the air.

"Hold it," Sakura said, turning to face Naruto with her arms crossed. "Team Naruto? Since when did we vote you as team leader?"

"Tsunade-baachan didn't say who was leader, so I have full rights to it, right?"

"Naruto, team leader isn't important right now. If Team Neji really encountered danger, we should be helping them, not arguing about team leader," Kaoru pointed out in an impatient tone.

"But we need a name for our team!"

"Fine, this team is now Team Sakura. Let's get going," Sakura said, shouldering her pack.

"Team Sakura? That's not a good name!" Naruto protested.

"If you two can't settle it, then we'll just make it Team Kaoru, alright? We don't have that much time on our hands, Naruto." Kaoru made to follow Sakura.

"But, but…Team 'Cherry Blossom' and Team 'Fragrant' aren't nearly as cool as Team 'Fish-Paste-In-Ramen!'"

"Naruto, just stop," Sakura sighed. "Look, we'll just call ourselves Team Rescue, alright?"

And with the "all-important" issue of a team name settled, Team Rescue headed out towards the Land of Grass. They assumed that, by this point, Team Neji would no longer be inside of Grass's borders, but most likely on the return route towards Konoha, and they were more likely to cross paths if they made their destination Grass.

----

They leapt from limb to limb through the forest, their pace fast and purposeful. The sky was a molten pink and indigo, and the air was growing cooler. They pressed forward though, driven mostly by Kaoru's impatience.

"Hey, Kaoru, let's make camp now, alright?" Sakura called out to the bobbing purple head ahead of her.

"The trees are getting a little greener around here, so there must be water close by. Let's get a bit closer to the water, and then we'll camp."

They traveled for another quarter of an hour, until they could hear the rushing of a river.

"Ah, this is the spot!" Naruto laughed, leaping down into a small clearing. "Hey, Sakura-chan, I'm going to get water for ramen, okay?"

"You idiot, we're not going to eat ramen tonight!"

"Well, did you bring any better food?" he asked. "I don't think so. It's ramen tonight!"

Kaoru gave a sympathetic smile, set down her bag, and began securing the area. She set up three traps around their camp and returned to find Naruto anxiously fussing over the pot of instant ramen he held over the fire.

"Naruto, when you finish cooking, put out the fire and destroy any signs of it, alright?" Sakura ordered, spreading out her sleeping bag. "There aren't any clouds to cover up the smoke."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever you say, Sakura-chan," Naruto said dismissively. "Ooh, it's almost ready!"

They ate their ramen in the darkness, and prepared to go to bed. Rejuvenated by the ramen, Naruto took first watch. He sat with a kunai in hand, his blue eyes wide and alert.

----

"Hey, Kaoru, it's your watch!" Naruto whisper-shouted two hours later.

Kaoru sat up, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. "Alright, you can go to bed, Naruto, I'm up."

She accepted the kunai he handed her and took the watch spot in the center of the clearing._Kiba-kun, you and the rest of your team better be alright!_

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**Ending Note:** Bah, not that great of a chapter. It's difficult to write in the car. Well, please review, everyone! 


	3. No 'Nice Guy Pose' for Naruto

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto. Nor do I own any of the Star Wars books. Significance of statement two will be explained at the completion of this fanfic.

* * *

**Wake Up – Chapter 3**  
By Katako-Chan

"The forest is growing a little thinner," Sakura observed. "We're getting closer to Grass, Team Rescue."

"That's good," Kaoru replied. _Kiba-kun and his team should be somewhere around here now…we've been traveling for almost two days, which means that Team Neji is almost a week late. And, unless they're…they're…_

"Hey, Kaoru," Naruto called out, "You're not thinking that Neji and them are dead, right? 'Cause they're not, and you better believe it! Neji's a genius, and as loud and annoying as both Ino and Kiba can be, they're strong. C'mon, Kaoru, cheer up!"

"Thanks, Naruto," Kaoru murmured, smiling sadly.

---

The dew had completely evaporated off the grass and the sun beat down on them when Sakura called the team to a halt.

"Look," she commanded.

"At what, Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked stupidly. "The forest? 'Cause there's nothing special about it."

"Oh, I see. Should we split up?"

"What? What is it, Kaoru? Tell me, tell me!"

"Look, Naruto. There are kunai and shurikan lodged in that tree to the left. The tree to its left has a burn mark on it, from exploding seals. That scrawny tree has most of its branches broken off. Is that natural?" Kaoru explained. "And, just maybe, there'll be a large crater in the ground several meters in some direction."

"Alright. Now that Kaoru explained this to you, Naruto, here's the plan," Sakura's voice took up a commanding air. "We're going to split up and meet back here in two hours." She threw a kunai into the earth. "Look for a kunai with a pink marker on it. That's our meeting point. Got it? Okay, split up."

---

Sakura had taken the west, which gave her the higher chance of running into any members of Team Neji. She had her gloves on already in preparation for an encounter with a wayward enemy, and her green eyes were wide and alert. She'd left their meeting point almost ten minutes ago though, and still had not chanced upon anyone. _This is strange...they must have been lead off the path by their opponents…_ Just as she finished the thought, she heard an explosion and saw smoke rise up to her right. She immediately took off in the direction of the explosion at a faster pace than before.

She reached the explosion site, and stood hidden behind a tree, watching the scene in front of her. What appeared to be several ninjas-turned-bandits were surrounding Ino, leering at her and licking their lips.

"Mmm, this one looks delicious. What do you say, Takashi?"

"Yeah, and I call first dibs, Kenji. Hey, girlie, you wanna come with me back to my place? I can guarantee it'll be real fun!"

"You sick bastard!" Ino spat, favoring her left leg as she reached into her holster. "I'll make you both eat your words, you nasty perverts!"

Ino lurched forward, her injured leg causing her to loose balance. The man called Takashi caught her by the middle and laughed a loud, vulgar laugh while his hand inched for her inner thigh.

"Let go of me!" Ino shrieked. "Sh-shintenshin no Ju-."

She was interrupted by a loud crash and thud as both Kenji and Takashi keeled over suddenly so Ino had a view of Sakura, her right arm and left leg still outstretched from the punch and kick she'd delivered, grinning at her.

"Hey, Ino-pig. Guess you owe me one now."

"I-I could have finished them off, Forehead! I had them right there, and then you interrupted! Stop trying to get all the glory, Billboard Bro-. Urgh!" Ino attempted to draw herself up into a position appropriate for shouting at her best friend and rival, but fell to the ground.

"Sure, sure," Sakura laughed while helping Ino up, "We all know that the great Yamanaka Ino could have finished off two sick men set on raping her with an injured leg and very little chakra."

"Damn straight I could have, except you came and stole all the glory! Ow…those stupid guards were a lot stronger than they looked. Crazy Tsunade-sama, spending more time drinking and gambling than getting decent information before sending her ninja on a mission…"

"Alright, alright, I get it, Ino, I get it. Now just sit down, and I'll heal that for you. You're still going to have to have it looked at when we get back to the village, but at least you'll be able to walk," Sakura sat Ino down on the grass and her hand glowed with green chakra as she held it over Ino's wound.

---

"Eh, I have no idea how Sakura-chan and Kaoru can see and get everything so fast! And it's not like they have the Byakugan or some kind of bloodline limit like that! Ugh, even with no official team leader, Sakura-chan has to act as leader. I would make a much better leader, and it'd be great training for being Hokage, believe it!"

Naruto talked to himself as he leaped through the trees to the north of pink-marked kunai. He'd been assigned the area that seemed to be the thinnest part of the forest at the moment, seeing as his observation skills were sub par. But, even with the lowest level of observation, he was beginning to notice the increased number of broken branches littered on the forest floor, some of them smoking while others looked trampled upon.

_Hmm…looks like the number one ninja at unpredictability will be making a big rescue today! Yeah, believe it! And then maybe Tsunade-baachan will let ME be Hokage!_

Naruto was so caught up in delusions of himself dressed in Hokage robes and being a village hero that he hardly noticed the clash of weapons that became audible. His brain was forced back to earth and began to process things again when he heard a slight cry of "Jyuuken!"

Naruto set off in the direction of the sounds and voices, his mind once again wandering. _That has to be Neji! Which means Uzumaki Naruto will be saving the great genius and prodigy, Hyuuga Neji, which will mean I'm better that Fuzzy Brows, and after that I'll be better than Fuzzy Brow's sensei, and then Kakashi-sensei, and then…and then…_

Naruto's rapid train of thought was cut short by a badly thrown kunai that missed his head by mere millimeters. He quickly slipped behind a tree and peeked out behind a tree and quickly ran over the scene: Neji seemed to be fairing quite well against his opponents, but his clothes seemed rumpled and dirt-and-grass stained due to quite a few falls. _C'mon, Neji! You're the Hyuuga genius! C'mon, believe it!_

Neji was once again thrown down to the earth. He pushed himself up again slowly, his limbs weary and stiff from the traveling and delay._They're overconfident, and this is your chance!_ Neji fell into the Gentle Fist stance and his palm smashed—gently—into the stomach of an enemy and thrust out his other arm towards the other man. Instead of defeating his adversaries, he lost his balance and crashed head first into the ground in a most undignified manner.

"Ha! And you will remember the name, Uzumaki Naruto, on the day I become Hokage, believe it!" Naruto's grin almost split his face in two as he struck a bad attempt at a "Nice-Guy Pose." Unfortunately, the orange and black jacket and pants didn't quite live up to Gai and Lee's youthful green jumpsuits.

"Naruto, stop," Neji ordered as he dusted himself off, his forhead creasing in a frown. "I don't need any more explosions of 'youthfulness,' or any other nonsense."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever, Neji. You're just mad because me, the_loser_, saved you, the _genius_, right? Right? Right? Say I'm right! You know I'm right, Neji, you know it!"

"No, Naruto. That is not why. It is simply that I have endured Gai and Lee's antic for nine years. I do not wish to also have to endure your antics, especially if they were to rub off in any way on Hinata-sama," Neji said, crushing Naruto's delusions.

* * *

**Ending Note:** Oh wow, this took a while to write. I hope the humor isn't too awkward. Please read and review! 


	4. Unromantic

**Author's Note:** Well, here it is, onee-sama. The final chapter of your present, where everything heats up. Ehehe, please review when you get back from Paris (when's that supposed to be?).

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto nor do I own the Star Wars books. Significance of statement two will be explained in the ending note of this chapter.

* * *

**Wake Up – Chapter 4**

by Katako-Chan

Kaoru sighed. The north didn't really seem like the best direction to be heading in. Earth Country was northwest of Fire and north of Grass, making the direction she was traveling in the most hazardous. _I've got to be really careful about not crossing Earth's borders. The Tsuchikage and Tsunade-sama aren't in any sort of alliance, and they'd probably hold me hostage or something._

Not long after she finished that thought, she noticed a tree with three long, deep gashes in its side. When she came closer to inspect it, the acrid smell of urine filled her nose and she drew back, crinkling her nose. _Claw marks and urine?_ she thought. _Akamaru! That means Kiba-kun must be close by!_

Quickening her pace, Kaoru sped off towards the sparse, barren horizon. Very soon after her acceleration, she heard the sounds of battle: weapons clanging, muffled battle cries.

She veered off her previous path and came upon Kiba and Akamaru fighting two large, hulking men glaring down with their weapons raised.

"Kiba-kun!" Recklessly, Kaoru dashed into the clearing and took up a defensive stance on Akamaru's left, a kunai held in front of her.

"Kaoru? What are you doin-. Augh!" Kiba was thrown back by one of the men with a great shove of his sinewy arms. Akamaru barked indignantly and snarled a threat only understood by Kiba to the enemy.

"Heh, guess this little twerp needed to be saved..._by a girl_," the first man, who was wearing an eye-patch, taunted.

"Why, you-!" Kaoru muttered angrily, leaping into the air and aiming a roundhouse kick at Eye-Patch-Man's head, who leaned out of the way and sent her crashing back to the ground.

"Hmm, this little girl is pretty feisty. This twerp your boyfriend, girlie?" this time it was the second man, who's chin sported a nasty-looking growth of scar tissue in the shape of an X.

Kaoru, a bit winded from her fall, blinked slowly to clear her vision, which was suddenly filled with glinting metal. She braced herself for a deep cut, but only heard a sharp cry and was once again laying on the ground, this time buried under something.

She twisted her head for a strained view of whatever was upon her and saw Kiba's, his eyes shut tightly and mouth twisted into a grimace, one hand gingerly covering the wound on his back.

"Kiba-kun, are you okay?"

"M'fine. How about y-?"

Kiba was once again interrupted as Kaoru hurriedly pushed him off of her and knelt in front of him, her arms held up in front of her face to block the oncoming blow. She winced and recoiled as the blade sliced neatly into her arm while the Scar Man laughed and boasted to his companion about having made 'the first slice.'

"Alright," Kaoru winced again as she turned to face Kiba and Akamaru, who had rejoined his master. "We're both injured, you worse than me. Sakura's on my team though, so we should be okay. But first, we defeat these two dimwits, right?"

"Right!" Kiba saluted while Akamaru barked in affirmative. "Let's go, Akamaru, Kaoru!"

The two ninja and one nin-dog stood to face the enemy, their feet set and weapons within reach. The two men, who seemed to be nothing more than bandits with quite a bit of stuff in the brute strength department, but nothing in the intelligence department, simply snickered and snorted.

"Hey, you kiddos. What d'ya think you can do to us?"

Darting forward, Kaoru reached into her shurikan pouch and threw two shurikan to distract her opponents while she formed the handseals for her jutsu. She brought her right hand up to her mouth, the index finger and thumb forming an "o" and cried, "Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu!"

The burning fire partially engulfed the two men, who panicked and slapped each other in a desperate attempt to put out the fire. To keep them distracted for a while longer, Kiba threw a medley of weapons from various directions; none of them aimed particularly accurately, a small smile on his face making it appear as if this was some mastermind plan of his. _Wow, fighting with Kaoru is different...I only remember ever sparring against her. It's almost like we know what the other's going to do...Damn, I'm starting to sound sappy!_

The two Konoha ninja and one Konoha nin-dog retreated behind some wild-looking bushes and shrubs that served as enough coverage for two humans and a large dog. The enemy was now attempting to avoid all the haphazardly thrown weapons on Kiba's part and the expression on their faces was one of utter confusion.

Kiba laughed silently at their expressions. "Man, they look like two giant-sized versions of Naruto when he's pissed off Sakura accidentally."

"Yeah, they do," Kaoru murmured.

"Ugh!" Kiba's continued mirth had jostled his wound, and he gently placed a hand on his back while Akamaru whined sympathetically.

"Kiba-kun, don't move too much, you'll hurt yourself more," Kaoru scolded, now rummaging through her backpack in search of the bandages she was sure she'd pack at the start of the mission. She moved closer to inspect his wound. "Oh, kami-sama, that's deep!"

Kiba edged away slightly at their close proximity. "It's fine, Kaoru. Besides, like you said, Sakura's somewhere 'round here." _Idiot! It's now or never, so hurry up and ask her! If you don't you're going to spend another five years building up the courage to! Hurry up and ask her, you idiot!_

"Hey, Kaoru?" Kiba asked suddenly, blushing, before turning his face toward Akamaru in embarrassment. "Um, when we get out of this mess, will you, er...um, will you marry me?"

"What?! Inuzuka Kiba, we are in the middle of being attacked by two crazy bandit people and you pick now, of all times, to propose?" Kaoru looked more mortified at the situation of his proposal than the actual statement of it. "Couldn't you at least of done it properly, with a ring or something?"

"Oh, um...well, heat of the moment?"

"Oh, is that why you proposed? Just because you felt like it? I suppose that means you'll leave me, too, if it was the 'heat of the moment,'" Kaoru turned away from him, her arm crossed and expression indignant.

"Wait, uh, is that...is that a 'no?'" Kiba murmured, lowering his gaze toward the red-brown earth.

"Hold on...what do you mean by '_when_ we get out of here?'" Kaoru asked, turning back around to face him. "Don't you mean '_if _we get out of here?'"

"No, I mean...I mean, I meant 'when.' There's no way we're not getting out of here."

"Oh...okay," Kaoru's voice went quiet, and she noticed she was digging at the ground furiously with her nails. "Well...well, yes, Inuzuka Kiba, when we get out of here, I'll marry you."

And, to entirely ruin the sweet, oddly romantic mood that had begun to settle over the area, at that moment, the two men finished ridding themselves of the fire and weapons that had served to distract them.

"Come on out, you stupid kiddos. We ain't finished with ya yet!"

They rushed out of the undergrowth, their shy smiles wiped away by the 'I-Am-In-A-Very-Bad-Mood-Now' expression worn by both men. Angry at their somewhat defeat minutes earlier, Scar Face and Eye Patch lunged toward Kiba, Kaoru, and Akamaru with their weapons poised for attack.

"YAH! You twerp and girlie ain't getting away with some shitty trick like before!" Eye Patch roared, swiping at their feet with his weapon, which greatly resembled a cleaver.

Continually being backed up by their enemies attacks in quick succession, the three suddenly found themselves in a river, due to Kiba's rather unromantic and badly timed proposal. Akamaru was holding a tree branch from one of the few trees in the area between his teeth with Kiba holding onto a very irritated Akamaru's tail with one arm and the other arm securely around Kaoru's waist. The tree branch in the nin-dog's mouth, which was slowly cracking where it connected to its rather dry and whithered tree trunk, muffled Akamaru's warning barks, but Kiba understood.

_This branch isn't going to last for much longer...and if we let go we'll be swept all the way down to wherever this river ends in Earth country. Dammit, Kiba, think! Use your dead brain and think! What can we do?_ Kiba eyes were shut in concentration as his mind thought back rapidly to farther up the river. _Yes! There's a weird part of the river just a bit ahead of here that I saw on the way to Grass. The water throws itself onto a small island sitting in the middle of the river, and stuff can get thrown up there too!_

"Akamaru! How much longer will it last?" Kiba shouted, while Akamaru replied with a series of muffled barks. "Good, that's enough time. Kaoru, listen to me. Upstream, there's this weirdo part of the river where the water throws itself onto a tiny island-thing in the middle of the river."

"You want me to swim down there?" Kaoru asked, her expression skeptic.

"No. If you just swim down there, those guys will go after you, and they'll get you while you're in the water. There's this weird thing that I got from Hinata, who got it from Sakura. It's this powder that makes you go unconscious and then with a handseal you can set a phrase or something to wake you up. You kind of need two people to do it, though." Kiba's face was urgent.

"So you want me to take the powder, float down the river, and wait for you, while unconscious, on that little island?" Kaoru asked, wondering when on earth did Kiba develop a brain capable of making plans like Shikamaru could.

"Yeah, the powder's in my backpack. Can you get it?" Kiba twisted his head back towards his pack, while Akamaru was now whining desperately. "I know, Akamaru, I know! This'll be done in a second!"

Kaoru carefully pulled the powder's paper packet out of Kiba's backpack and tore of a corner, preparing to down it in one go.

"Wait, we need to set the phrase to make you up. How about, 'Hi, Kaoru?'"

"No, too simple. How about this one," Kaoru whispered a phrase into Kiba's ear, whose eyes went a little wide before nodding. He then formed a handseal and whispered some quick words under his breath while Kaoru tilted back her head and threw the powder into his mouth.

"See you in a bit, Kiba-kun," she whispered as he let go of her waist and she floated down the river with the current.

"Alright, Akamaru, we're going to finish off these guys!" Kiba shouted, as the two dipped under the water and pushed off the bottom of the river, giving them the necessary leverage to return to the shore. "Shikyaku no Jutsu!"

"Heh, just makes you look more like your stupid dog, dog boy," Scar Face snorted.

"Alright! We might as well use this and make sure they're finished off. Jinjuu Konbi Henge: Soutourou!" There was a large puff of concealing smoke, and when it blew away, a white, two-headed, red-eyed wolf stood before the two awestruck men.

"What the hell is-."

"Garouga!" With that cry, the wolf sprang into the air and spun to form a cyclone similar to that of the "Gatsuuga," except much larger and deadlier, sending the enemy flying a long distance backwards and effectively ridding the vicinity of the few trees it actually had.

Transforming back, Kiba sighed, before turning in the direction of the river's current. "Let's go, Akamaru."

Akamaru barked in victory, his face lit up with a dog-grin as the pair set upstream to find Kaoru. _Wait, what if the water didn't have enough force to throw her onto the island? What if Kaoru's racing down that river to Earth Country? No, it won't, and there's no way I'd let her go all the way to Earth!_ "C'mon, Akamaru, we're going faster!"

--

Kiba and Akamaru reached the small island sitting staunchly in the center of the swift river's current. On the island, thankfully, lay Kaoru, one long purple pigtail covering her face as the water washed over her feet. With a simple leap, the two crossed the river to the island, and Kiba knelt down beside Kaoru, lifting her hair out her face.

_Aw, c'mon, Kiba, you've already asked her to marry you! You can say this. She's not going to wake up if you don't say it. Say it, you coward!_

Akamaru, as if sensing his master's uncertainty, barked in encouragement.

_Okay, well...here goes nothing._

"Kaoru...I love you."

* * *

**Ending Note:** HAHA! And with this, I finish my SECOND multi-chapter fic, and my onee-sama's Christmas present. CELEBRATION NECESSARY!

This was by far the longest chapter ever written. Six pages on word...ehe, normally my chapters are only three to four pages.

Anyways, I promised I would explain, right? Well, the story idea was inspired by this one Star Wars book ((SPOILERS FOR A STAR WARS BOOK FROM THIS POINT ON. IF YOU DO NOT WISH TO KNOW, YOU CAN JUST WONDER ABOUT HOW STAR WARS WAS NECESSARY IN THE DISCLAIMER))...I totally forgot which, whatever one it was that Luke proposes to Mara in. And the proposal and afterwards are very similar to this situation. The weird powder/jutsu is my ninja version of a Jedi Trance, or whatever it was that they're called. I could have Kiba using the Force, could I?

Please review!


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